


Family Snapshots

by HixyStix



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, One Big Happy Family, Zeb gets a big family, Zeb wants a big family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24476272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HixyStix/pseuds/HixyStix
Summary: Little short fics about the Kallus-Orrelios family as it grows.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 21
Kudos: 83





	1. 5 ABY - Piotr

**Author's Note:**

> Since I'm using this as an escape from my main project right now - the 2020 WIP Big Bang - this won't update as regularly or as quickly as my other stuff. But it _will_ update!

Alex’s nerves were on high alert as they made their way through the space station, eyes wide, scanning the crowd as they pushed through.

Beside him, Zeb chuckled. “Calm down, Alex. It’s a kid we’re looking for, not a bomb.”

Zeb was all smiles and ease and it annoyed Alex a little bit. They’d both agreed to this, both wanted this, but only Alex seemed to be worried about all the implications.

Then again, Zeb would probably approach parenting with his usual gusto and charm, while Alex scrambled behind, making sure things fell into the right places and that no one died unnecessarily.

“There!” Zeb pointed to an office set off the main station throughway. “That’s where the agent said to meet him.”

 _Tepasi Station Family Services_ , the sign over the door read. Zeb was right.

Alex took a deep breath and slipped his hand into Zeb’s, getting a reassuring squeeze from his husband.

Inside the office, they were greeted with warm smiles and offers of caf and snacks.

“The shuttle from the surface experienced a couple of delays,” the receptionist explained. “If you want to wait in the meeting room…?”

Alex nodded. He almost laughed from anxiety when he saw the ‘meeting room’: instead of a long table with chairs, the room had couches and brightly colored children’s toys. It looked more like the waiting room to some pediatrician’s office than somewhere to hold meetings.

Zeb plopped onto one of the couches and held out a hand invitingly. Alex sat next to him, Zeb’s weight making the couch cushions bow just enough that Alex slid down against Zeb’s leg, unable to scoot away. With a kiss to Alex’s forehead, Zeb wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him tight.

“Alex, I said relax. You’re gonna stress the kid out if you don’t calm down.”

“I can’t ‘calm down’, Zeb. Do you know how important this is? We’ve only got three days with him to make a decision.” Alex looked at Zeb. “But you’ve already made your decision, haven’t you? Without even meeting him. We don’t even know his name yet.”

“We know enough. Kid’s parents were on Alderaan and he’s grown up in the agency, Alex,” Zeb pointed out. “If you humans didn’t have such small families, he’d have aunts and uncles to go to, but he’s got no one. I think he deserves a family, too.”

Alex sighed, leaning against Zeb. If he argued– what if we don’t mesh? What if the child is terrified of lasats? What if…? – then he’d come across as insensitive and unwilling and _that_ certainly wasn’t the case.

“You’re going to be a great dad,” Zeb whispered, breath tickling Alex’s ear and sending a chill down his spine. As usual, Zeb saw right through his anxieties and got to the heart of the matter.

Alex turned his head at just the right angle to rub his forehead against Zeb’s cheek, the closest he could get to letting his husband scent him as long as they sat squished together on the cheap couch.

A knock on the door interrupted them. They both sat up straight, staring at the door as it opened. A man walked in, holding the hand of a young child.

The little boy – Alex knew from the file they’d been given that he was five years old – stared back at them, fingers in his mouth. His dark brown hair and tanned skin set off shockingly green eyes in a round face.

Heart pounding in his chest, Alex realized he already wanted to bring the boy back to Lira San, back to their home where they could show him what it meant to belong to a loving family. Zeb had been right; they needed to give him a family. From the way Zeb went rigid at his side, Alex guessed he was thinking the same thing.

The family services employee knelt down by the child. “This is Piotr,” he said calmly. “Piotr, these are the Kallus-Orrelioses. You’re going to spend three days with them here, okay?”

“Okay,” whispered the boy.

 _Piotr._ Alex’s heart stuttered. That was a common Core name, but one he was particularly fond of. He pushed off the couch, kneeling as well. “It’s nice to meet you, Piotr. I like your name,” he said. “My dad was named Piotr, too.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Alex confirmed. “And I loved him very much.” _I’d like to love you, too._

Their first day with Piotr was spent at a playground on the station, then getting ice cream. Piotr was quiet, but seemed happy with all the positive attention Zeb and Alex were giving him. He fell asleep on the couch in their hotel room, clutching a stuffed bantha.

Zeb crawled into bed, wrapping himself around Alex as usual. “What do you think?” he whispered.

“If he likes us, I’m ready to do it now,” Alex said. “Maybe we can talk to the agency tomorrow and just get it over with.”

Grinning into Alex’s shoulder, Zeb agreed. “Yeah. I want him, too. I’m ready to take him home.”

“He’s very shy,” Alex pointed out. “How do you think he’ll do on Lira San, without other humans around?”

“You do fine,” Zeb said, worry beginning to creep in. “Don’t you?”

Alex turned in his arms, rolling over to face Zeb. “I do fine because I have you and you watch out for me.”

“And you don’t think I’d do that for Piotr?”

“I don’t know that you’d always be around for him. He’ll have to go to school at some point, because I don’t think either of us are up to homeschooling. We can’t control what happens when he’s not with us.”

“Alex,” Zeb said, kissing his husband’s forehead. “You’re stressing and you’re making me stressed. The important thing is that we love this kit and we’ll continue to love him no matter what. He’ll be _family._ ”

Alex closed his eyes and adjusted his position to kiss Zeb properly. “You’re right, as usual. How do you do that?”

“‘M just that good,” Zeb murmured against Alex’s lips. “An’ you know it.” He ran a hand down Alex’s side, coming to a rest atop his hips. Normally, he’d go further, but, well, there was a kit in the room. Instead, he pulled Alex to him, burying his face in Alex’s hair, and slept.

The second day with Piotr had Alex’s nerves even more in a twist. Watching Piotr, it was obvious the boy was trying very hard not to get attached to them. _How many families have passed him over?_ Alex wondered. _That stops today._

Zeb asked lots of questions over breakfast – waffles; Piotr seemed to love them as much as Zeb did – and got a few short answers from the boy, but Piotr didn’t really seem to perk up until Alex asked what he wanted to do that day.

“‘Quarium?” he asked, eyes lighting up.

Alex and Zeb exchanged glances. They didn’t know about any aquariums, but… “If there’s one around, we can go,” Alex promised, pulling out his datapad to look the place up.

“It’s on Tepasi,” Piotr said, more excited than he’d sounded yet. He fidgeted, looking worried, as if realizing that asking might have been too much. “Went last year an’ I liked it.”

Zeb nudged Alex’s side just as Alex found what he was looking for.

“Got it,” Alex said, looking back up. “It’s in Unlos Tagge. We can probably rent a dock for the day pretty cheaply.”

“Then let’s go,” Zeb said. He stood and held a hand out to Piotr while Alex dealt with their breakfast bill. 

Piotr hesitated taking Zeb’s hand, Alex noticed. _Is that the shyness or does Zeb scare him?_

The aquarium was fairly interesting, Alex supposed, but he was busier watching Zeb and Piotr than he was the fish. Zeb and Piotr were more important, certainly.

The first time Piotr grabbed his hand and pointed out some lake denizen, though, Alex’s heart melted. _Maybe he’s getting used to us._

“Kit likes fish,” Zeb said to Alex quietly while Piotr pressed his face up against the glass to get a better look at some creature. “I’m gonna take him fishing for _tikitythal_ when we get home.”

Alex gave his husband an amused side-eye. “With a pole, hopefully. Not your crazy _nal tythad_.”

“Of course.” Zeb looked almost offended. “ _Nal tythad_ will wait until he’s older.”

Laughing, Alex hid his face in Zeb’s shoulder for a moment until his expression was under control again.

“I think we should ask him now,” Zeb said once Alex had sobered. “I wanna know what he wants to do.” Zeb’s face was deadly serious, eyes on Piotr.

“Okay. Do you want to ask or should I?”

Zeb bit his lip. “Eh, you do it. I don’t wanna accidentally scare him.”

“Fine.” Knots forming in his stomach – even more than when Zeb proposed, more than when they were married – Alex found a seat in a quieter corner of the aquarium and called Piotr over.

The boy came up, green eyes large and questioning, and climbed into the seat next to Alex.

“Piotr,” Alex started, feeling apprehensive. “Zeb and I have thought about this and we want you to be part of our family. But only if you want to be, however. Is that something you’d like? Coming home with us?”

Amazingly, the boy’s eyes opened even wider. “Really?” he asked, almost too softly to be heard over the crowd surrounding them.

“Really,” said Zeb. Alex looked up and Zeb was behind him, apparently too eager to stay away like he’d originally suggested.

“You have to say ‘yes’,” Alex prompted. “Or ‘no,’ if you don’t want to come with us. But if you do, I promise we’ll both love you very much for the rest of your life.”

Zeb placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder, squeezing as they both waited for the answer.

Piotr nodded. “Yes,” he whispered. “I wanna go with you.”

Unable to contain his joy, Alex picked Piotr up and hugged him, smiling even more when Zeb wrapped his strong arms around them both.

They were going to be a family of three now.

Piotr wiped out on the couch easily that night; it’d been a day of excitement for the little boy.

A day of excitement for Zeb and Alex, too. Zeb curled up behind Alex in bed, holding him tight.

“He’s still nervous,” Alex said. “I can tell.”

Zeb thought for a second. He hadn’t seen it, but Alex had always been more sensitive to other’s moods. “Why?”

“He’s been at the agency for over four years, Zeb. How many parents looked at him and chose another child, do you think?”

Zeb grimaced. He couldn’t imagine passing up Piotr, but he had to admit he’d have probably fallen in love with whatever kit came through those waiting room doors.

“We’ll just have to make sure he knows we’re serious tomorrow,” Zeb muttered, half-asleep.

“And you’ll do that wonderfully,” Alex said.

“He likes fish,” Zeb mused. “Think we should decorate his room with fish?”

“I think we should let him pick it out. I’m sure there are other things he likes, too.”

Zeb hit another worry. “Think Hera and Jacen’ll like him?”

Alex laughed lightly. “I think Hera will love him. Hopefully he and Jacen will be friends. You realize he’s older than Jacen, right?”

“Yeah,” Zeb said. “But they can still be friends.”

“They can,” Alex agreed. “Zeb, it’s time for us to sleep, too.”

Zeb kissed the middle of Alex’s back, making the man shudder. “Okay, love. I’ve got you ‘til morning.”

“I know you do,” Alex said, his smile evident in his voice. “I know you always do.”

The next morning, they splurged on breakfast again, letting Piotr order the fruit-topped waffles with all the sugar. 

Piotr dug in as if he’d never been fed before in his life. About halfway through the large waffles, he began to slow down. He mumbled a question, but Zeb couldn’t make it out.

“I’m sorry?” said Alex. “I didn’t hear what you said, Piotr.”

“Am I really coming with you?” Piotr said, a little louder.

Alex gave him a soft smile. “Our plan was to go sign the paperwork after breakfast. Unless there’s anything else you want to do here, we can leave for Lira San after lunch.”

“Lira San?”

Zeb glanced at Alex. _Huh. Guess we didn’t actually tell him about Lira San yet._ “Lira San is the planet where we live, kiddo. It’s a pretty quiet planet, but it’s full of lasats like me.”

“We’ve got a nice house and you’ll have your own bedroom,” Alex said. “There’s lots of room to play and the neighbors have a little girl about your age that you can play with.”

“We can go fishing or hiking or whatever you want to do,” Zeb offered. “You just let us know what you like.”

Piotr nodded slowly, a drippy piece of waffle still on his fork.

Alex leaned forward. “Piotr, we really mean it. We’ve got to do the paperwork, but as far as we’re concerned, you’re already part of our family.”

“An’ family loves each other,” Zeb added. “An’ we love you, Piotr.”

Piotr set down his fork, hand sticky from the fruit syrup. Zeb could tell Alex itched to reach over and clean it for him. “Really?” the boy asked, echoing the day before.

“Really really,” Zeb said. “Forever, too.”

The boy didn’t seem to know what to say. 

Alex squeezed Zeb’s arm. “Let’s get cleaned up and go do that paperwork. The sooner that’s done, the sooner this is official and we can all three go home.”

Zeb watched Alex wipe off Piotr’s hands and dab at a syrup stain on his shirt. It was mostly useless; short of a bath and a change of clothes, there wasn’t much to be done.

He took the kit’s hand anyway, knowing it’d mess up his fur, and led him off to the agency’s offices.

“C’mon, Piotr Kallus-Orrelios,” Zeb said. “Time to make this official.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me bastardize Anath_Tsurugi's beautiful Lasana!
> 
>  _tikitythal_ is my mushed-up word for catfish.  
>  _nal tythad_ is "hand fishing". 
> 
> Yeah, I headcanon that Zeb would totally go noodling for catfish.


	2. 6 ABY - Saflyn & Safkan

“They’re turning one,” Alex said, plucking the sharp claws of the kit he held out of his chest, trying to redirect Saflyn to cling to his shirt instead. The little girl mewled, still sleepy, in his arms and kneaded his chest again anyway. “They won’t remember the party.”

Zeb held the other twin, Safkan, with much more ease – the kit’s claws were as sharp as his sister’s, but Zeb’s fur insulated him from damage. “We will,” he reasoned. “Piotr will.”

“Piotr will remember that it’s not _his_ party and might pitch a fit,” Alex pointed out. “You have spoiled him a bit.”

“Me?” Zeb laughed. “Oh, love, I think that’s been both our faults.”

Alex smiled, knowing Zeb was right. Piotr was six and running circles around his fathers, both literally and figuratively. Alex would do just about anything for that little boy.

And almost anything for the newest additions to their family. A one-year-old party, though? “Piotr will fuss, it’ll be loud and confusing for the twins and they’ll cry, and then we get to pick up thrown and smushed cake from every surface in the household. Tell me what part of that is supposed to make me want to throw them a party?”

A wicked smile spreading across his face, Zeb leaned over on the couch and whispered into Alex’s ear.

Alex burst out laughing, shaking his head. “And what makes you think I’m going to let you put icing there?”

“I’m persuasive.” Zeb winked and Alex snorted in reply.

The noise made the twins fuss in their sleep and Alex quickly quieted, petting the fluffy hair on Saflyn’s head.

Zeb stood, bouncing Safkan as he walked to the window, looking out at the yard where Piotr played with a friend. “We’ll invite Piotr’s friends, so he’s happy, and the adults can coo over these two,” he said, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

“You’re not letting this go, are you?”

“Nope,” Zeb confirmed. “I’m throwing a party. You can come if you want.”

Zeb looked around at the chaos filling their house, eminently pleased. 

The twins were trilling chirps and mews and small growls as they were talked to and petted and passed around from adult to adult. They were decorated with small flowers twined in their fur, a Lasan tradition Zeb insisted upon, and kept trying to eat the little blue and white blooms. Zeb grinned and snapped a few holos for posterity’s sake.

Piotr and the three friends he’d been allowed to invite ran rampant through the house and the yard, grabbing snacks as they passed through the kitchen.

Alex tried to fuss at them for breaking into the food early, but he was too busy struggling with the little individual cakes he’d insisted on baking for all the kits. For all he’d resisted the idea of a party, Alex sure got into it once Zeb planned the thing.

Grinning, he walked up behind Alex and wrapped his hands around his husband’s hips. “Hey,” he said, resting his chin on Alex’s shoulder. “You’re stressing.”

Alex glared, a streak of white flour on his cheek messing up the intended intimidation. “You think?”

Zeb checked out the cakes; the little ones each had the name of a kit written painstakingly neatly in icing, while the larger cake for the adults was decorated much more plainly. “What, no sprinkles for us?” he joked.

“Zeb.” There was an edge of warning in Alex’s voice, betraying his rising anxiety.

With a quick kiss to Alex’s cheek, Zeb backed off. “I’m _kidding_ , love. You’ve done so much. You should let me finish up while you go sit down.”

Alex relaxed a little but shook his head. “I’ve got this,” he insisted. “There’s just one more cake. Kerra’s.”

“At least let me take the finished stuff to the table,” Zeb offered.

Taking a deep breath, Alex nodded. “Okay. You get that. I’ll finish Kerra’s cake and then we’ll call them all in.”

Zeb nuzzled Alex’s hair, smiling. “You’re amazing,” he said. “Thank you for doing this.”

“I am _only_ doing this for you,” Alex reminded him. 

“And the holos.”

“And the holos.” Alex sighed, looking into the living room where the twins were. “They are awfully adorable today. You were right about that.”

“I’m right about a lot.” Zeb winked and grabbed as many plates and bowls as he could carry, leaving Alex glaring again. That time, at least, the look was half-joking.

Hanging up his messy apron, Alex finally left the kitchen, following Zeb with the large cake into the living area. Safkan gurbled at him, reaching out to be held.

Pasting a giant smile on his face – one that was becoming more and more genuine the longer he was away from the kitchen – he plucked his son out of Gron’s arms and cuddled him, fiddling with the tiny flowers in his fur and making Safkan giggle.

“You ready to eat, ni kyra?” he cooed.

“Duhduh!” Safkan cried happily, a common vocalization that Alex chose to interpret as the beginnings of ‘daddy’.

Alex kissed Safkan’s forehead and plopped him in his high chair. He fetched Saflyn in a similar manner while Zeb stood in the door.

“Piotr! Kerra! Ashvyr! Jenobrin! Time for cake!” Zeb called, jumping aside to avoid being bowled over by the rambunctious kits.

From there, it was a literal mess of cake and icing and dirty hands and faces. The adults attempted to keep some semblance of control over the situation, but there was only so much they could do in the face of sugar- and party-induced excitement.

Alex held Piotr in his chair, hands on the boy’s shoulders, and made him stay through the present opening – Zeb handled that chore for the twins, who were much more interested in the remnants of icing streaking their trays.

Piotr wiggled unhappily and Alex finally reached down and picked him up, settling him on a hip.

“Calm,” Alex whispered. “It’s just a few more minutes, big guy.”

“Dad- _dy_ ,” Piotr whined. “I wanna _play_.”

Alex wiped some cake from Piotr’s cheeks, marveling yet again that this was the same shy, terrified boy they’d brought home just over a year before. He’d blossomed under the love and affection they’d given him, and was as active and reckless as the lasat kits he played with. He was shy with new people, but Alex remembered being the same way, so it didn’t cause much worry. Adopting the ten-month-old twins had been a stumbling block, but they’d mostly worked through that.

The main problem was Piotr’s jealousy, Twin kits required more hands-on time than a six-year-old boy, and Piotr resented that. He’d had nine months of uninterrupted Daddy and Dan-dan time, so having two new siblings to share the attention with was a big change.

“You can in a few minutes,” Alex promised, kissing Piotr on the forehead. Big green eyes stared back at him through shaggy dark bangs; it was getting close to time for a haircut for both the humans in the family, Alex realized. “But right now, we’re here for Saflyn and Safkan. Just like they will be when you turn seven.”

Piotr frowned, a sure sign he was thinking hard. “Four more months?” he asked.

“That’s right!” Alex said encouragingly. Math was not Piotr’s strong suit, so they tried to applaud him whenever he attempted arithmetic. “Four more months and you’ll be seven.”

Across the room, Zeb looked up and caught Alex’s eye. Alex clearly read the _‘everything okay?’_ question in his eyes.

 _We’re good,_ Alex mouthed, nodding.

Zeb returned the nod and went back to unwrapping presents and letting the twins play with the wrapping paper.

Piotr sighed dramatically, but being held by Alex seemed to help calm him and he managed to watch the presents being opened without an outburst.

As soon as the presents were finished, however, four young pairs of eyes turned to Alex.

Alex set Piotr down and patted his back. “Go play,” he instructed unnecessarily. The kits – lasat and human – dashed from the house as quickly as they could once they were freed from the laps and arms of parents.

The adults all joined in helping clean up the remains of cake and wrapping paper, a gesture Alex was grateful for.

Zeb stopped him from participating, though, grabbing his hand and guiding him back to the couch. Alex sat down and Zeb handed him both twins. “Sit,” he instructed. “You’ve done enough.”

Alex blinked. “Party’s not over. There’s still work to do.”

“It’s over for you,” Zeb said. He ruffled Alex’s hair, safe from retaliation with both Alex’s arms occupied. “I know you didn’t want this, but you did so much. You sit and I got it from here.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that.” Alex adjusted the twins to rest against his shoulders; both were starting to doze after all the activity. As Zeb left, Alex rested his head on Saflyn’s head, taking a second to enjoy the almost sweet scent of baby kits.

He closed his eyes, fighting the unpleasant memories his brain sometimes dragged up when things were going too well. Alex did his best to focus on the twins, on Zeb’s voice as he talked to the other parents, on the shrieks and yells of the kits outside – and _not_ on thoughts of Lasan or Onderon or any number of other planets where shrieks and yells meant something other than kits having fun.

That was behind him. Alex had changed. He wasn’t ISB anymore. He wasn’t Rebel Intelligence anymore. He wasn’t even a Spectre. He was just _Daddy_.

And that was more than enough.

Zeb closed the nursery door carefully behind him as he left so as not to wake the twins back up.

In the living room, Piotr blinked at him sleepily, momentarily distracted from his holovid. Alex looked equally sleepy stretched out on the couch.

Zeb smiled at the sight. It’d been a long day, but a good one.

“Ni kyra,” he said and Piotr frowned, knowing what was coming. “It’s bedtime for you.”

Alex sat up, catching Zeb’s eye.

Zeb nodded shortly and went to pick up Piotr.

“We’ve got something for you,” Alex said quietly. “Because you behaved at the party.”

Piotr’s eyes widened. “I get a present, too?”

“Just one,” Zeb said. “It’s not a fun present, though. It’s one that you’ll have to work at.”

Piotr frowned. “ _Work_?”

Alex came over and placed a hand on Piotr’s back. “You’ll like it, even if it means work.”

They split up then, Zeb carrying Piotr to his bedroom while Alex went to their bedroom for the present.

Zeb settled Piotr in bed, but the kit was squirmy, too curious to lie down.

Alex walked in, a hand behind his back. Zeb briefly thought of the war days and how Alex used to stand at attention in the Imperial fashion: ramrod straight with his arms tucked in the small of his back. The memory made him smile; not because he missed Alex’s former discipline, but because he loved all the ways his former Imperial had softened over the years.

Piotr was practically vibrating, staring eagerly at Alex.

Kneeling by the bed, Alex pulled his hand out and showed Piotr what he had: a miniature wooden bo-rifle.

Zeb had worked on the staff for the last month, secretly after the kits were all asleep, painting it to look like his own, but with fake orange electricity on the ends: Piotr’s favorite color.

Those same eyes lit up when they saw the bo-rifle. “For _me_?”

“Yeah, kiddo,” Zeb said. “You have to learn how to use it properly, though. Daddy and I will teach you.”

Piotr nodded solemnly, hands reaching out. Alex handed him the bo-rifle and the kit immediately bonked himself in the head with it.

Zeb managed not to laugh, but he had to turn away to stifle a snort. Piotr wasn’t graceful – they were hoping the bo-rifle training would help his coordination – but Zeb hadn’t expected him to prove that right away.

“Piotr,” Alex said, sitting on the bed and gently guiding the bo-rifle back down into Piotr’s lap. “This isn’t a toy. It’s a practice weapon and like the weapons Dan-dan and I have, you have to treat it with respect. Like it could hurt someone at any time if you’re not behaving with it. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Daddy.” Piotr turned over the bo-rifle in his hands, looking at the carvings Zeb had done.

Zeb smiled softly and set a hand on Piotr’s shoulder. The kit was too distracted to have really listened to Alex, but it was the best they were going to get for the moment. “We’re going to keep it in our closet for now, with _our_ bo-rifles, but we’ll try to practice a little every day, okay?”

Piotr handed the bo-rifle back to Alex reluctantly but obediently. Zeb nodded in approval; he really was a well-behaved kit, despite the fact that Zeb and Alex were just guessing as they tried to raise him right.

Maybe Piotr was naturally a good kit. Maybe Alex and Zeb were doing something right after all.

Zeb leaned down and kissed Piotr’s head. “Sleep time,” he said. “Tomorrow you can start learning to use your bo-rifle.”

Alex gently pressed Piotr’s shoulders, making him lie down, and then tucked him in. “Thank you for behaving so well today,” Alex said, leaning over for a kiss as well. “Sweet dreams, ni kyra.”

Piotr yawned. “G’night, Daddy. G’night, Dan-dan.”

They left Piotr with his fake aquarium night light on and closed the door to his bedroom.

Alex stopped, leaning against the hallway wall. “And you really want more?” he asked. 

To Zeb’s ear, it sounded mostly like a joke, so he took it as one. “I want a whole houseful,” he said, stepping up to Alex and nibbling at his ear. “As many as you do.”

“More, then. But no more first birthday parties,” Alex said, smiling now.

Zeb laughed quietly. “Fine. No more first birthday parties.” He went to kiss Alex’s cheek, but Alex turned his head and changed it to a real kiss. “Party pooper,” Zeb mumbled against his lips.

Alex grinned. “I will party when it’s appropriate.”

Snorting, Zeb shook his head. “You _barely_ partied on Endor and that was the galaxy’s best excuse to party. What counts as ‘appropriate’?”

“You, taking me to bed, perhaps.”

“Perhaps?” Zeb raised his brows. “That better be more than ‘perhaps,’ mate.”

Alex placed a hand on Zeb’s chest. “Let’s test it, then. Take me to bed.”

Zeb kissed him again, deeper and longer, one hand traveling down to unbutton Alex’s pants.

Of course, that’s when it happened: one of the twins started crying, which set off the other.

Zeb sighed and Alex buttoned himself back up.

“Rain check,” Alex said, handing him the wooden bo-rifle. “Go put this up and I’ll handle the monsters.”

Zeb chuffed Alex’s chin. “Our children are delights, not monsters.”

Alex snorted that time. “Right. Tell them that.” He slipped out from between Zeb and the wall, already saying soothing things as he opened the nursery door.

Zeb listened to him for a few minutes, expertly calming the kits down.

A few years before, he’d never expected to have kits in his life and now there were three. He had a loving husband. He was a _Dan-dan._ They were going to keep growing their family.

Life was pretty kriffing good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Used more of Anath_Tsurugi's lovely Lasana!
> 
> ni kyra - "sweetheart" towards a child  
> Dan-dan - Lasana version of "daddy"


End file.
